Page 43 of A Little More

Juliana waved off the thanks and walked out the door. That had to be the shortest exit Juliana had ever made. Just like the rest of his hometown, saying goodbye usually took as long as the visit.

Lexi shifted to the side, her lips lining up with his in their current position.

“Please, tell me I can kiss you.”

She slumped against him like she finally let go of their fight. “I’d rather our first kiss not happen while I feel like trash.” She picked up her soup mug and rose. Nash held a hand under her elbow. She stiffened for a brief second before continuing into the living room.

He picked up her blanket, spreading it out.

“I’m not used to someone doing things like this.” She sat down, her feet tucked under her.

Sitting down beside her, he gave her a grin, purposefully ignoring her comment. “Either you can give me your feet, or I can retrieve them myself.”

Her feet shot out from under the covers. The playfulness pulled a small smile from her lips. “Here.”

She buried her face into her soup bowl, ignoring him for a few moments as his thumbs worked the bottom of a fuzzy sock encased foot. He laid his head back on the sofa. “How can you possibly take a nap on this thing? It’s hard as hell.”

“It’s better once you stretch out.”

After rubbing foot number two, Nash set her empty soup mug on the coffee table and moved her to the side.

“What are you doing?”

He shifted lower on the sofa, propping a pillow up behind his head, placing one foot firmly on the floor to keep from dumping them both off. In another move, he pulled her back down to stretch out halfway on top of him. He still wasn’t comfortable, but he could help keep her warm before he had to leave.

She rubbed her cheek along his white shirt. “It’s so strange that I didn’t know you a couple months ago.”

“From the first moment I saw you, I wanted to be this close.”

“Why?” she asked with such a happy sigh it made Nash smile.

“Besides the obvious reason that you’re gorgeous,” he began, linking their fingers together and admiring her rich skin tone against his. “When you talk in your ‘business voice’ and sound all smart like you did that first day, I can hardly concentrate on what you’re saying. And there’s something so basically sweet about you. Sweet with heat underneath it.”

“Like sweet and sour soup?”

“No. Like sweet and spicy hot wings.”

“Did you just try to give me a compliment by comparing me to hot wings?”

He kissed the top of her head, noticing a trace of the warm vanilla scent from before. “I like hot wings. Try to get some rest. I’ll be here for a couple hours and then head back.”

Her body relaxed. “Thank you for this.”

Knowing it wasn’t easy for her to say, he opted not to respond. He glided his hand up and down her spine, soaking in the feel of her pressed against his body, not paying the least bit of attention to the home improvement show on the screen. They only had a couple weeks left until she didn’t have any reason to come to Statem. He wouldn’t have any reason to drive to Atlanta.

He needed this. This touch. To feel her body under his hands. But a long-distance relationship was too risky. He’d promised too many people that he wouldn’t leave the farm again. He wouldn’t leave his mom. She depended on him. He wouldn’t leave the store. The county and everyone who’d begun to plan to sell their produce and baked goods in his store depended on him. This attraction with Lexi was fierce. But he couldn’t ignore the rest of his life to pursue it.

She’d been still for so long, he thought she might have dozed off until she spoke.

“I can come down on Friday.” Her voice sounded unsure. Nervous. Was she scared her boss would question the trip? Or did the dead-end to their relationship make her wary of even starting one?

He thought about the worksite. Nothing needed to be done for a while now. Only supervision. She had no reason to come down.

“If you don’t want me to—”

“I do.” He held her tighter. She’d come down to see him. Take a risk for him. A woman willing to make an effort for him was a new concept. “I look forward to it.”

11

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